"Dying as an Art" Tanka

alone with her
these words slowly roll out
at twilight:
just like your poetry
dying is an art

Fire Pearls 2 : Short Masterpieces of Love and Passion, 2013

Rope Tanka

the woman I met
three love tanka ago . . .
twisting her hair
into a meter-long rope
around my heart

Fire Pearls 2 : Short Masterpieces of Love and Passion, 2013

A Haiku about Anne Frank House

last pencil marks
on the wall
Anne Frank House at dusk

PoemHunter, June 18, 2013
Forthcoming on PerDiem, THF, September 2013

A Tanka about Clichéd Imagery

a ship perched
atop forest branches...
I glimpse
the face of the Muse
in clichéd imagery

PoemHunter, June 16, 2013

Note: The opening lines refer to the iconic image in Werner Herzog's one of most acclaimed films, Fitzcarraldo.

The Echoes, A Tanka Sequence

waking alone
from the talk with the girl
I met
in childhood dreams
church bells echo from afar

chants
of the ninety-nine percent
echo from afar --
counting winter stars
in my attic window

being a poet
how do you put food
on the table?
her words echo from afar
breaking this moonlit night

Red Lights, 9:2, July 2013

A Tanka about July First Fireworks

July first fireworks...
is there one among those stars
that guides my life
through this unknown
land of the maple leaf

Red Lights, 9:2, July 2013

Death Anniversary Haiku

death anniversary
the lines and dates
on her son bedroom wall

Paper Wasp, 19:2, Winter 2013

Stag Haiku

long shadow...
a stag's cry darkens
the forest

Paper Wasp, 19:2, Winter 2013

A Haiku about Mecca

low crescent moon...
he prays toward Mecca
in a prison cell

Paper Wasp, 19:2, Winter 2013

Thanksgiving Dinner Haiku

thanksgiving dinner
my ex sits in the back
of my mind

Paper Wasp, 19:2, Winter 2013

Summer Sunlight Tanka

in summer sunlight
a bird on my windowsill
singing for hours
will autumn leaves fall
with last year's same sigh?

Paper Wasp, 19:2, Winter 2013

Gunshot Haiku

gunshots outside
he turns up the volume
on his stereo
 
Modern haiku, 44:2, 2013

"Route Irish" Haiku

twilit Route Irish...
loud Jazz music
from the tanks

PoemHunter, June 11, 2013

Note: Route Irish is one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in Iraq.

De Wallen at Twilight, A Haiku Sequence

Old Sichuan Cuisine
between window brothels
I eat alone

from one window brothel
to another...
a street dog and I

surrounded by girls
in the window brothels...
me and the Oude Kerk

Notes:

1 De Wallen, a major tourist attraction, is the largest and best known red-light district in Amsterdam, in/famous for its "window brothels" ("one-room cabins" rented by sex workers).
2 Sichuan cuisine is known for its spicy, tongue-numbing dishes.
3 Founded in 1213, the Oude Kerk ("old church") is Amsterdam’s oldest building and old parish church.

NeverEnding Story, June 9, 2013

Confession of an Immigrant Poet, A Haibun

Winter sunlight is streaming through the attic window onto my Walmart build-it-yourself desk.

As a Chinese coolie working with thought and emotions in the enclave of a foreign language, I don’t feel any pleasure from writing most of the time, except in fleeting moments when I extract gold dust from the sand in a river that winds through the land of memories.

the shape of the day

after one haiku

frozen walkways

Haibun Today, 7:2, June 2013

The Edge of Night Tanka

I stand
at the edge of night
looking in
and out at the space
between winter stars

PoemHunter, June 1 2013

A Tanka about Ajax and Taipei

ten years gone ...
is the harvest moon
in the Ajax sky
the same moon
hanging over Taipei?

PoemHunter, May 31, 2013

A Tanka about Vincent's Ghost

a sickle moon
at the attic window . . .
layer by layer
Vincent's ghost peels
the crust from my night

NeverEnding Story, May 12, 2013

Silence in the Dark, A Tanka Sequence

the Faith Saves sign
on the manicured lawn
of a white church...
in its long shadow
one dog mounts another

in the shade
of a wooden cross
the mute man cries
with his trembling hands
I was abused as a child

bang! bang! bang!
shatters this midsummer night
lingering
in the moist air
Knockin' on Heaven's Door

at daybreak
as I remember the look
in his eyes...
did he see the face of God
in cherry blossoms?

Lynx, XXVIII:2, June 2013

Youthful Mother Haiku

the full moon
from hometown memories
youthful Mother

PoemHunter, May 11, 2013

"No Means No" Tanka

the duct tape
inscribed with No Means No
over her mouth...
the courthouse
and its long shadow


NeverEnding Story, May 5, 2013

Geese Haiku

alone in Ajax
a flock of geese flying
in a v shape

PoemHunter, May 4, 2013

A Haiku about Retirement

first snow flurries...
the shape of the day
after retirement 

The Heron's Nest, 15:2, June 2013

Another Year, A Haiku Sequence

the scent of plums
in a hazy moon night
writing haiku

summer breeze . . .
thinking of my ex's eyes
the color of the sea

off-key notes...
a maple leaf drifts in
through the window

whiskey stains
on One Man's Moon
winter solstice
(for Cid Corman)

PoemHunter, May 7, 2013

A Tanka about New Poetry

the red banner reads
Poetry for the New Era
she recites a poem
in a broken voice
dressed in mourning

PoemHunter, April 30, 2013

Power Outage Haiku

from the screen
to ten thousand stars . . .
power outage

PoemHunter, April 29, 2013 

A Tanka about Shanghai Residents

Goethe and Schiller
stand in the cobblestone square
Shanghai residents
come and go daily
without casting glances

NeverEnding Story, April 29, 2013

Stage Haiku

stage lights out...
I am left at the edge
of his words

Published in Acorn, #30, April 2013

"Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” Tanka

In Memory of the Victims of Tiananmen Massacre 
(Beijing, June 4th, 1989)

in the cold air
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry poster
hangs unmoving
maple trees overshadow
the Chinese Consulate

Note: Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is a 2012 documentary film about the internationally renowned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwe, who dioramas were smuggled out of China to Venice, where they are publicly exhibited in a church being used as an art gallery, in parallel with the 2013 Venice Biennale, though not officially part of it.

Glass Skyscraper Tanka

I stand alone
atop a glass skyscraper
where we lay flat
on the summer grass
with our feet tangled

Skylark, #1, Summer 2013

Double Love Suicide Haiku

double love suicide ...
a black butterfly circles
the new gravestone

NeverEnding Story, April 24, 2013

Starless Night Haiku

starless night
a lantern boat sailing
out to sea

2012 Haiku Society of America Members' Anthology

Editor's comment:  Such a fine poem, Chen-ou. I admire the direct language and economy of image—stark and deeply lonely, and yet, filled with hope for a good haul.

Heart and Mind Tanka

the poet is a man
who can string a few words
seamlessly
these words pass through my fingers
through my heart and mind

PoemHunter, April 21, 2013

Wedding Tanka

wedding morning...
I wake from a dream
of entering
this pool that contains
a giant black octopus

VerseWrights, April 16, 2013